Alfred Hitchcock's 'To Catch a Thief': Bringing Cary Grant Back From a Premature Retirement and Saying Goodbye to Grace Kelly • Cinephilia & Beyond Documentary , Filmmaking , Interview , Screenwriting 101 Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘To Catch a Thief’: Bringing Cary Grant Back From a Premature Retirement and Saying Goodbye to Grace Kelly On set photograph from To Catch a Thief of Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Still photographers: Bill Avery & Bud Fraker The first out of five movies that Alfred Hitchcock made with VistaVision and his third and final collaboration with the magnificent Grace Kelly, To Catch a Thief is the master’s welcome and precious break from the phenomenal but somber thrillers that marked his career during the fifties. Set in the unbelievably charming Mediterranean landscape of the French Riviera, To Catch a Thief is a highly polished romantic thriller which tells the story of an experienced, masterful but retired burglar forced to catch the mysterious criminal molesting the insanely rich visitors of the Riviera.

Cary Grant plays the charming protagonist whose shady history easily makes him the prime suspect for the French police, but if it wasn’t for the combination of three influential factors, we would hardly have the chance to see Grant in this picture. The star announced his retirement from acting, but simply couldn’t say no to Hitchcock’s invitation for dinner. Grant was allegedly intrigued by the story to some degree and reluctantly accepted to read the screenplay, but warned Hitchcock not to get his hopes up. It was then, at the end of dinner, that the old fox delivered the punch that destroyed Grant’s defenses, as he informed Grant on the two, seemingly casual pieces of information. The film is to be shot on the French Riviera, and Grace Kelly agreed to play the lead female role. Retirement, it seemed at that moment, was something that Grant could easily put on hold.

Adapted from a novel by David Dodge, written by John Michael Hayes, the man with whom Hitchcock worked on the brilliant Rear Window , shot with the Oscar-winning talents of the cinematographer Robert Burks and based on the dynamic, seductive interplay of the two classic Hollywood superstars under the spotlight, To Catch a Thief turned out to be a splendid eye-candy of an audience-pleaser. It even led to another Grant-Hitchcock collaboration a couple of years later, in North by Northwest. To much of Hitchcock’s disappointment, he failed in each and every attempt to lure Kelly back to Hollywood in the years that followed, since she moved to Monaco and married Prince Rainier, but this lovable cat-and-mouse story was indeed the final film the two of them made together. When talking about the numerous merits of one of Hitchcock’s most relaxed, least intense pictures, it would be a crime not to mention the work of the Oscar-nominated costume designer Edith Head , or the great composer Lyn Murray .

But all in all, the main power of To Catch a Thief lies in its entertaining and clever writing, top-notch on-screen chemistry between Grant and Kelly, as well as the impressive visuals and breathtaking setting that contributed to the creation of a classic romantic flick that proves the versatility and talent of one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of cinema. A monumentally important screenplay. Dear every screenwriter/filmmaker, read John Michael Hayes’ screenplay for To Catch a Thief [ PDF ]. (NOTE: For educational and research purposes only). The DVD/Blu-ray of the film is available at Amazon and other online retailers. Absolutely our highest recommendation. As you all know, most of the screenplays on C&B are among the most elusive and unattainable unicorns out there, just like To Catch a Thief’s script. It takes us a lot of blood, sweat and tears to find and digitize them so as to make them available to the general filmloving public. We’de be forever grateful if you could help us, however modestly , to buy the necessary equipment so we could continue our work. Thank you.

WRITING AND CASTING ‘TO CATCH A THIEF’ Hitchcock had enjoyed working with John Michael Hayes on Rear Window and the screenwriter was hired to write To Catch a Thief towards the end of 1953. Whilst Rear Window was still post-production, Hitchcock arranged for Hayes and his wife to spend two weeks at the Hotel Carlton in Cannes researching the area in preparation for starting the screenplay. By February 23rd, Hayes and Hitchcock had completed a 9 page story outline. Four weeks later, Hayes had completed a first draft which ran to 212 pages and this was hastily translated into French in order to obtain the necessary filming permits and work permits for the American cast and crew. By the end of March, key contracts were in place and work on budgeting the film began. During April, with the estimated budget approaching $3,000,000, Hitchcock cut out a costly street carnival scene and replaced it with a chase through a flower market. The script was finally completed at the start of May, although Hayes would be required to travel to Cannes with the cast and crew in order to do last-minute rewrites.

In particular, the Production Code Administration had raised objections to several planed scenes. According to biographer Patrick McGilligan, tensions arose between Hayes and Hitchcock during location filming. Several times the director overruled changes the writer suggested only to discover Hayes had then gone behind his back and discussed them with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly to try and get their support. — The Hitchcock Zone AN INTERVIEW WITH HITCHCOCK’S WRITER: JOHN MICHAEL HAYES “His whole life was motion pictures; there didn’t seem to be much else in it. He just loved what he was doing, and he transmitted that feeling to you, rather than hovering over you like a giant genius. He was encouraging. He used to say, ‘It’s only a movie. Don’t worry about it, just do your best, and let the public decide.’ Hitch was humorous and relaxed on the set. We’d go to dinner or lunch, but in no sense was I his personal confidant. He used to go over his early pictures and tell me how he had solved problems. I think the worst fight we ever had was over the ending of To Catch a Thief. We had different ideas.

I wrote twenty-seven different endings and still don’t like the one that was used. We had a couple of slam-bang script fights. Still, we got along fine until I got too much press. When we went to Paris for the premiere of To Catch a Thief, I was getting mentioned everywhere—they value writers in Paris—so I was promptly banned from all public relations events. If I was mentioned in the fourth paragraph of a story, that was okay but not in the first or second. I was becoming known for my dialogue and characterizations. They even talked about ‘the Hitchcock-Hayes fall schedule’ in either Variety or the Hollywood Reporter. When you show up in the same sentence—Alfred Hitchcock and John Michael Hayes—that was more than he could bear. He wanted to be the total creator: Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Hitch was so unkind about giving credit.” — How They Write A Script: John Michael Hayes THE MAKING OF ‘TO CATCH A THIEF’ Short documentary covering the making of To Catch a Thief.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK AND PETER BOGDANOVICH (1963) “Kelly is an American in the film, but she wasn’t frigid like the typical American woman who is a tease—dresses for sex and doesn’t give it. A man puts his hand on her and she runs screaming for mother immediately. The English women are the opposite of that. They are the best. They look like nothing—they look like school mistresses. Kelly is the English woman in that film. Outwardly, cold as ice, but, boy, underneath! And that was epitomized by the kiss in the corridor. Of course, the fireworks scene is pure orgasm. Just as the tunnel at the end of North by Northwest is a sexual symbol. Wouldn’t Kelly prefer Grant were really guilty of the robberies? Oh, of course, let’s put a mild word to it—it’s more piquant that way, more in the nature of her fetish.” — Alfred Hitchcock and Peter Bogdanovich HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT To Catch a Thief was the first film you shot on location in France. What do you think of the picture on the whole? It was a lightweight story.

Along the lines of the Arsene Lupin stories. Cary Grant played “The Cat,” a former high-class American thief who has retired on the Cote d’Azur. When the area is hit by a wave of jewel robberies, he is the logical suspect, both because of his police record and his expert skills. To resume his peaceful existence, he uses these skills to conduct his own investigation. Along the way he finds love, in the person of Grace Kelly, and in the end, it turns out that the guilty party is a “she-cat.” It wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. The only interesting footnote I can add is that since I hate royal-blue skies, I tried to get rid of the Technicolor blue for the night scenes. So we shot with a green filter to get the dark slate blue, the real color of night, but it still didn’t come out as I wanted it. Like several of the others, the plot hinges around a transference of guilt, with the difference being that here the villain turns out to be a girl. Brigitte Auber played that role.

I had seen a Julien Duvivier picture called Sous Ie Ciel de Paris in which she played a country girl who’d come to live in the city. I chose her be­ cause the personage had to be sturdy enough to climb all over the villa roofs. At the time, I wasn’t aware that between films Brigitte Auber worked as an acrobat. That turned out to be a happy coincidence. This is the picture that aroused the press’s interest in your concept of movie her­oines. You stated several times that Grace Kelly especially appealed to you because her sex ap­peal is “indirect.” Sex on the screen should be suspense­ful, I feel. If sex is too blatant or obvious, there’s no suspense. You know why I favor sophisti­cated blondes in my films? We’re after the draw­ing-room type, the real ladies, who become whores once they’re in the bedroom. Poor Mar­ilyn Monroe had sex written all over her face, and Brigitte Bardot isn’t very subtle either. In other words, what intrigues you is the paradox between the inner fire and the cool surface.

Definitely, I think the most interesting women, sexually, are the English women. I feel that the English women, the Swedes, the north­ern Germans, and Scandinavians are a great deal more exciting than the Latin, the Italian, and the French women. Sex should not he ad­vertised. An English girl, looking like a school­ teacher, is apt to get into a cab with you and, to your surprise, she’ll probably pull a man’s pants open. I appreciate your viewpoint, but I doubt whether the majority of the public shares your tastes in this matter. I think the male au­dience prefers a highly carnal woman. The very fact that Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, and Brigitte Bardot became stars, despite the many flops in which they appeared, seems to bear this out. The majority of the public, it seems to me, prefers the kind of sensuality that’s blatant. That may well be true, but you your­self admit that those actresses generally make bad films. Do you know why? Because without the element of surprise the scenes become meaningless. There’s no possibility to discover sex.

Look at the opening of To Catch a Thief I deliberately photographed Grace Kelly ice-cold and I kept cutting to her profile, looking classi­cal, beautiful, and very distant. And then, when Cary Grant accompanies her to the door of her hotel room, what does she do? She thrusts her lips right up to his mouth. I’m willing to grant that you manage to impose that concept of icy sexuality on the screen, but I still feel the audience prefers the kind of sex that’s obviolls and tangible. Maybe so. Anyway, when the picture is over, the public’s pretty satisfied with it. I’m not overlooking that, but my guess is that this is one aspect of your pictures that’s probably more satisfying to the feminine view­ers than to the male audience. I’d like to point out that it’s generally the woman who has the final sayan which pic­ture a couple is going to see. In fact, it’s gen­erally the woman who will decide, later on, whether it was a good or a bad picture. On con­dition that it’s not displayed by a person of their own sex, women will not object to vulgarity on the screen.

Anyway, to build up Grace Kelly, in each picture between Dial M for Murder and To Catch a Thief we made her role a more interest­ing one. Since To Catch a Thief is in a rather nostalgic mood, I didn’t want to wind up with a com­pletely happy ending. That’s why I put in that scene by the tree, when Cary Grant agrees to marry Grace Kelly. It turns out that the mother-in-law will come and live with them, so the final note is pretty grim. “I DEAL IN NIGHTMARES AND NIGHTMARES HAVE TO BE AWFULLY VIVID” A 1966 interview with Alfred Hitchcock on filmmaking, simplification of identification, visual clarity, actors and improvisation, the Hitchcock-woman, humour of the macabre, being a traditionalist, making television, suspense and more. Here are several photos taken behind-the-scenes during production of Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief. Still photographers: Bill Avery & Bud Fraker. © Paramount Pictures.

Get Cinephilia & Beyond in your inbox by signing in Email Tags 'To Catch A Thief': Cary Grant Was Retired, But Alfred Hitchcock Reportedly Changed His Mind Jonathan Franks To Catch a Thief, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, is coming back to Netflix in May! The 1955 Oscar-winning film, which was produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, marked the third time in which Cary Grant starred in a Hitchcock movie. According to multiple reports, though, that particular collaboration almost never happened. Grace Kelly and Cary Grant in a scene from “To Catch a Thief,” driving along Monaco’s Grand Corniche pic.twitter.com/eRaEJU5raR — Alli (@Oztwinstr) November 16, 2015 Around the time Hitchcock wanted to move forward to To Catch a Thief, Cary Grant was apparently off of the market. According to Cinephilia & Beyond , Grant had already announced that he was officially retired from acting. By that point in his career, Cary Grant had already achieved more than most actors and actresses could ever dream of achieving.

In addition to make several radio appearances in the late 1930s and early 1950s, Cary had five Broadway credits between 1922 and 1931. He had also appeared or starred in nearly 60 films between 1932 and 1953. Therefore, retiring from acting would have made sense to a number of people, including his fans and critics – especially considering everything that he had already accomplished on the radio, stage and screen. However, Alfred Hitchcock apparently had other plans for the popular actor. — Sheri Chinen Biesen (@SheriBiesen) April 18, 2016 According to Cinephilia & Beyond, when Alfred Hitchcock invited Cary Grant over for dinner, it was an offer that the retired actor simply could not refuse. The report states that Cary was definitely intrigued by the story and overall concept of To Catch a Thief and, with some reluctance, agreed to read the screenplay. However, he reportedly made it clear to Alfred Hitchcock that he should not get his hopes up about the actor getting involved with the film.

Once again, Hitchcock apparently had a trick or two up his sleeve that would successfully lure Cary Grant into changing his mind. “It was then, at the end of dinner, that the old fox delivered the punch that destroyed Grant’s defenses, as he informed Grant on the two, seemingly casual pieces of information. The film is to be shot on the French Riviera, and Grace Kelly agreed to play the lead female role. Retirement, it seemed at that moment, was something that Grant could easily put on hold.” Cary Grant starred as John “The Cat” Robie — a retired burglar determined to catch a new cat burglar on the scene that was turning wealthy tourists within the French Riviera into victims. Grace Kelly played Grant’s romantic interest Frances Stevens in the film. Cary Grant (18 Jan 1904–29 Nov 1986), English stage, Hollywood film actor. W/ Grace Kelly, ‘To Catch a Thief,’ 1955.

pic.twitter.com/7y1oMn20zs — KWSnet (@KWSnet) January 18, 2016 To Catch a Thief, which was based on a novel written by David Dodge, won the Academy Award for “Best Cinematography.” It marked the last collaboration between Alfred Hitchcock and actress Grace Kelly. However, Grant apparently came back for more several years later in the popular 1959 Hitchcock film, North by Northwest. Multiple reports confirm that To Catch a Thief will be returning to the streaming collection available on Netflix on May 1st.

It will join several other popular Cary Grant movies that paired him with other A-list leading actresses, including: His Girl Friday starring Rosalind Russell (1940) People Will Talk starring Jeanne Crain (1951) Monkey Business starring Ginger Rogers & Marilyn Monroe (1952) An Affair to Remember starring Deborah Kerr (1957) That Touch of Mink starring Doris Day (1962) Charade starring Audrey Hepburn (1963) Cary Grant did eventually retire from acting officially in 1966 when his daughter — and only child with former spouse Dyan Cannon — Jennifer Grant was born. According to the New York Times , Grant decided to step away from his successful Hollywood career to focus on his real-life journey of fatherhood. Cary Grant con su hija, Jennifer Grant pic.twitter.com/viY4kAVwiU — Pinceladas de cine (@Pinceladasdcine) April 17, 2015 Nearly 22 years after Jennifer was born, Cary Grant died on November 29, 1986 at the age of 82.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Cary left the bulk of his estate to his widow, Barbara Harris Grant as well as his daughter Jennifer. However, with the vast number of feature films such as To Catch a Thief included within his filmography, the legacy of Cary Grant still continues to live on even now through his work. [Image Credit: Keystone/Getty Images] Best Shot: Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief (1955) - Blog - The Film Experience Best Shot: Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief (1955) Tuesday, June 28, 2016 at 11:00PM To Catch a Thief (1955) is minor Hitchcock. Let's get that out of the way. But even minor works by an indisputed master can look awfully major when you stack them next to regular ol' films which is why we keep hitting Hitchcock in this series. There's a clickbait article going around (no I'm not linking) that argues that The Shallows (Blake Lively vs shark) is a better film than The Birds (Tippi Hedren vs, well, birds). Which is crazy talk but film twitter always always takes the bait.

True story: the last two films I screened were The Shallows (2016) and To Catch a Thief (1953) and I would have never thought to pair them until this silly shark vs birds kerfuffle which erupted immediately after I had just seen both of the movies. Truth bomb: The Shallows is a really good "B" movie (I don't mean grade, but yes: B) but it's awfully slight. It's just girl, shark, a few good scares, smart direction, and not much meat to chew on beyond "wow, that was kinda good." To Catch a Thief is a pretty good "A" movie (I don't mean grade) and it's somewhat slight. But here's the thing. People aren't going to be talking about The Shallows in 2070. Please note: People are still talking about Hitchcock's entire oeuvre a half-century plus later. Even in a trifle like To Catch a Thief, which is maybe too long considering it's shy on plot and stakes, is a joy to watch for a number of reasons, the first of which is its surprisingly robust sense of humor. [ More...

] If this were "Hit me with your best cut" this would be my choice. A hilariously juxtaposition of Robie the Cat's cat, sitting on a newspaper that's talking about the new crimes of Robie the Cat. And the cat has clawed the gossip column! There are sex jokes, corny jokes, and slapstick gags throughout (Cary Grant's stretchy striped shirt results in a great one). To Catch a Thief is also very very beautiful and it's easy to see why it won the Oscar for Best Cinematography. We'll pretend it's for Robert Burks amazing use of garish greens, mysterious purples, and dangerously black silhouettes (a warm up for Vertigo surely) rather than the gorgeous travelogue shots Oscar voters surely fell for. Bronze: My favorite of the decadent leisure travelogue style shots. I love everything about the angles, the body positions, the composition, and the scuffed up platform. But what a doozy of a problematic scene: Grace Kelly is deemed "old" yikes. Silver: A great "still life," Robie the cat frozen in place underlit by the spotlight. Everything about this composition and that green tiled roof is perfection.

Like many Hitchcock films it benefits considerably from major charismatic starpower in this case a bronzed Cary Grant who is aging very well in the mid 50s and Grace Kelly seconds after her 1954 peak. Honorable Mention: this is one of the Greatest Post-Coital shots of all time... astoundingly soft and beautiful but also at place in a thriller. But it doesn't really represent the movie as a whole. It's colorful, engaging, funny, interesting, and beautifully designed by the filmmaker and his department heads. This is why Hitchcock movies endure. They're always freaking feasts for the eyes, nerves, and brain. And every once in a while they're feasts for heart or the libido, the latter being the case here as it's easily one of Hitchcock's very sexiest. Best Shot: Grace Kelly sets the stage, flirtatiously begs the title character to show up ('ooh, look at my diamonds. Can you resist?') and cues the Cinematography to take over. If you really want to see fireworks it's better with the lights out. I have a feeling tonight you're going to see one of the Riviera's most fascinating sights. ...I was talking about the fireworks.

On that sexy note: the film's best scene (amply represented in these Best Shot selections from the club which you can see below) is a long seduction sequence in which Grace Kelly invites Cary Grant over to watch fireworks (*wink wink*). Once he's there she tries to draw the wild cat out of this man pretending to be an Oregon lumber entrepeneur. It's not that she's not interested in his wood, but she knows him to be a famous thief. He denies it but she has several power moves up her sleeve including mood lighting, crazy hot diamonds, and dialogue so ripe with come-ons, the fireworks are actually happening inside the room. Needless to say, she catches her thief. Best Shot Club Click on the photos for accompanying articles You're probably wondering why I chose this. It's a nice landscape shot but what makes this so special?

DVDlaunch.com: To Catch A Thief review Starring: Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis, John Williams Screenplay by: John Michael Hayes Based on the novel by: David Dodge Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock Studio: Paramount Retail Price: $24.99 Features: Writing and Casting To Catch A Thief, The Making Of To Catch A Thief, Alfred Hitchcock and To Catch A Thief: An Appreciation, Edith Head - The Paramount Years, Photo and Poster Gallery, Theatrical Trailer Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English Mono, French Mono, English Subtitles, English Closed Captions, Scene Selection (18 Scenes) Released: November 5th, 2002 The ancient maxim says, "It takes a thief to catch a thief." With Alfred Hitchcock's classy, candy-colored confection, bountifully mixing comedy and suspense, the mystery is which thief does the title refer to?

John Michael Hayes delectable screenplay offers up three thieves: John Robie (suave Cary Grant) who is an ex-burglar referred to as "Le Chat (the cat)," Francis Stevens (the incomparable Grace Kelly) and another who shall remain nameless to avoid any spoilers. Robie stole tangible objects; Francis steals hearts; together they create a classic team of sleuths on the trail of a new cat burglar, whose crimes are remarkably similar to those of the retired Robie. But has Robie really retired, or is he just leading the authorities and Fran on a wild goose chase? The multi-layered script allows for a certain element of suspense regarding Robie and his motivations (similarly, Grant's Peter Joshua in Stanley Donen's "Charade" would have many of the same characteristcs of Robie a few years later) to keep the viewer guessing until the final denouement. Like the majority of Hitchcock's films, "To Catch a Thief" operates on many levels, but surprisingly, the emphasis is on sophisticated comedy. "To Catch a Thief" is always entertaining, with wonderful character turns from Kelly, Grant, John (not the composer) Williams and Jessie Royce Landis.

The scenery is as beautiful as Miss Kelly, for Hitchcock's film takes place along the Cote D'Azur - relaxation spot for millionaires, the swimming hole of the idle rich, and the future home for Miss Kelly when she became Princess Grace of Monaco. (Incidentally, it was during the filming of "To Catch a Thief" that Miss Kelly met, and was wooed by her future prince). The main level of this romantic suspenser, is brought out in the romance between Francis and John. In an unusual twist for the time period (and in the Hitchcock canon), it is the female who initiates the romance - and watching Grace Kelly move from icy heiress to stalking tigress is only one of the film's major pleasures. During an oft-imitated, but never equalled, love scene, Francis offers the ex-thief her "diamonds" to feel and to hold. As fireworks outside the window increase in power, so does the erotic tension between Robie and Fran. The screenplay's innuendo is played for all its worth by both Grant and Kelly as Robie's befuddlement turns to passion and Fran's passion heats up. The romance is utterly believable because of these two actors.

Another level of "To Catch a Thief" is how the film echoes past Hitchcock films and acts as a harbinger of what Hitch had yet to produce. Kelly's Fran is cinematically linked to her Hitchcockian heroine in "Rear Window" with a single, simple gesture: in "Rear Window" her Lisa Fremont roams through a room turning lights on, in "To Catch a Thief," Francis mirrors this business, but, turns all the lights OFF. To Hitchcockian freaks, such as I, Francis is a direct descendant of Lisa Fremont, though at opposite ends of the scale. While Lisa wants to shed light, Francis prefers the mysteries held in the dark. Francis is also related to Sean Connery's Mark Rutland in the forthcoming "Marnie," for Francis, like Mark, finds sexual satisfaction through bedding a thief. Of course there is the John Robie of Cary Grant, an innocent man accused of a crime using his own resources to prove his innoncence - a striking thematic device used throughout all of Hitchcock's career, but reaching a zenith with "North By Northwest;" where Grant once again worked with Hitchcock.

"To Catch a Thief" allows for yet another relative to "North By Northwest" in the casting of character actress Jessie Royce Landis, as Fran's alcohol besotted mother. Landis brings a depth to the line "No one calls me 'Jessie; anymore," that no other actress could have plumbed from it. Jessie is also given a mirror gesture to a previous Hitchcock entity: by stubbing out a cigarette into a plate of fried eggs, Hitchock links this character to another rich American tourist - the society matron Mrs. Van Hopper, who similarly extinguishes a cigarette in a jar of cold cream in "Rebecca." Landis would later play Grant's completely sober and rational mother in "North by Northwest." For all its many attributes, "To Catch a Thief," I find, is most closely related to Hitchcock's "Marnie" (a film which I have written about right here at - a film which was originally slated to star Grace Kelly, and a film which explores the psychosexology of theivery on a darker level. Indeed, it would be fitting to view "To Catch a Thief" back to back with "Marnie" for a fine double feature.

Ironically, the opening words of both films deal with the exclamation of theft. But don't let the relative darkness of the above paragraph fool you, "To Catch a Thief" is as light and frothy as a French Vanilla Filled Cream Puff: a delicious, powdered sugar sprinkled crust with a rich center. From the stunning, but appropriated costumes by the doyenne of film fashion, Edith Head to the Academy Award Winning cinematography (which includes a dream-like rear-projection section much like "Marnie's") everything within "To Catch a Thief" is a triumph. Stylish. Chic. Brimming with double entendres. You know when watching "To Catch a Thief" exactly why "they don't make them like that anymore." Who could ever hope to replicate the charm, the dexterity or the joie de vivre captured by Alfred Hitchcock, Grace Kelly and Cary Grant? "To Catch A Thief" is presented in a glorious 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, and yes, the technicolor here does look better than on the recent re-release of "Singin' In The Rain"!

Even if this print is greatly flawed, a lot of it does pop right out at you with Hitchcock's bold color scheme that does not feel underhwelming, yet maybe at times due to it's "VistaVision" can feel a bit too much as if you are breathing in that Europena countryside air. The film of course is wonderfully shot and really looks stunning... but dirt pieces, blemishes and scratches (there are a lot of those) bring it down for sure. It does get quite distracting. There's also a ton of shimmering, too much noise that really gets in the way of things and the film can be quite grainy. So despite it's visual brilliance, the transfer's flaws and print's flaws bring it down to balance it out. Presented in either English or French mono, there's not so much to say. Fidelity is on the low side which is to be expected for a nearly fifty year-old film, but since you can hear everything like the sound effects, the dialogue and the background score (that surely brims with fine tension), it's not terrible or anything.

Yet if it was possible to spread the track out and not have it all cluttered together, surely this would have been a stronger sound presentation. Nonetheless, this works fine for what it is. Also included are English subtitles and English closed captions. No, it doesn't bear Paramount's "Special Collector's Edition" title, but "To Catch A Thief" surely has some nice supplements. Writing and Casting lasts a solid nine minutes, topped with film clips, stills and some rather nice editing. Pat Hitchcock (Alfred's daughter) and Mary Stone (Alfred's granddaughter) talk about the film and its characters. A lot of nice history on the film is covered here, especially on the history of Alfred Hitchcock buying the novel's rights, moving it to Paramount, the sceenplay itself and the actors cast. It's a bit short, but very, very informative. Some man talks about most of the writing, but is never directly identified until the next featurette (his name is Steven DeRosa, and he wrote "Writing With Hitchcock"). The Making Of To Catch A Thief lasts nearly seventeen minutes.

Topped with stills, film clips and a very detailed production history with some fairly intriguing production stories, plus interviews with Stone, Steven DeRosa, Pat Hitchcok and a few others, this also feels too short yet a lot of nice ground is covered throughout. The amount of stills and how integral they are to this featurette is actually rather outstanding, this is a very well done and must watch for fans of the film. Alfred Hitchcock and To Catch A Thief: An Appreciation is a more personal look at the film and Hitchcock himself, as his daughter and granddaughter discuss that special man in their lives. Topped with home movies, sills, film clips and even some stuff from Sylvette Baudrot, the personal touches and stories are really quite nice and not fluffy in this seven and a half minute featurette. Edith Head - The Paramount Years features film clips from her in Paramount films, stills and assorted interviews (the late Rosemary Clooney gets some words in here too) for this nice lookback at the actress. Even if it might seem condensed, you might be surprised of how much of a history and background is given on her.

The detail is impeccable and it's a very nice featurette to watch, especially for those who are familiar with her work and the classic films she starred in. It's definitely a strong thirteen minutes and forty-two seconds. Rounding the disc out is a nice and automated Photo and Poster Gallery lasting seven minutes plus a full frame Theatrical Trailer. "To Catch A Thief" is a pure Hitchcock classic, and Paramount's DVD release of the film is quite nice. With a pretty good presentation and very strong supplements, fans of the film are encouraged to pick this one up. Otherwise, this is certainly worth a rental if you want a night of strong entertainment. To Catch a Thief/North by Northwest Commentary: Political, Social, Local, Personal Two Alfred Hitchcock/Cary Grant Films From The Fifties Hollywood made movies for grown-ups in the 1950's. For their seventy five cents admission, adults expected quality entertainment produced by top-notch directors, writers and actors. A lot of film makers considered their work creative art back then. It wasn't until many years later that the corporate studios turned to flashy visual gimmicks, cartoon characters and lame vampire plots to generate their profits and executive bonuses.

Alfred Hitchcock, who'd been directing movies since the thirties, was at the top of his form in the fifties. He teamed up with Cary Grant, an actor also at the peak of his career, to make two fine films in that decade. They were To Catch a Thief (1955) and North by Northwest (1959). Cary Grant was born Archie Leach in Bristol, England. He came from a dysfunctional, working class family in which his father was largely absent and his mother was sent off to an insane asylum. He dropped out of school very young to join an acting troupe in London and immigrated to New York at the age of 16. In America he grew up to be one of the twentieth century's most successful actors and movie stars. Often cast as a character of wealth and relaxed sophistication, he generally appeared on-screen with perfect posture, perfect grooming, and perfect teeth, all the while modeling a perfectly fitting suit. His acting was so good that viewers frequently assumed he wasn't acting at all; he was just being himself. And his perfectly modulated voice and unidentifiable accent never betrayed his humble origins. He created this remarkable on-screen persona with sheer force of will.

He once said , "I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until finally I became that person. Or he became me." On another occasion he said, "Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant." To Catch a Thief Cary Grant plays John Robie, an American living on the French Riviera. He's a former cat burglar and jewel thief who's reformed and gone straight. But an imitator has been robbing rich tourist women and the cops suspect Robie. So Robie has to find and catch the real cat burglar to clear his name. Yeah, the plot is preposterous, but Hitchcock can make a wonderful film out of a silly story. The female lead is the lovely Grace Kelly in the last film of her career. She'd made two earlier films directed by Hitchcock: Dial M for Murder (1954) and Rear Window (1954). She'd also played opposite Gary Cooper in the classic High Noon (1952) and won an academy award for her performance in The Country Girl (1954). She ended her acting career after marrying Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956.

Tragically, she died in a car crash in 1982, driving on a winding road in France, one similar to the one she's seen driving on in To Catch a Thief. North by Northwest The Cary Grant character is Roger Thornhill, a somewhat insecure advertising man and mother's boy. A victim of mistaken identity, he's kidnapped by foreign spies, who try to kill him. He barely escapes their clutches, but, in trying to sort out the strange incident, finds himself a suspect in the murder of a prominent diplomat. So he flees the police as well as the foreign spies by traveling across country, eventually ending up in South Dakota. As with To Catch a Thief, the plot is preposterous. But the film contains the memorable scene of the Cary Grant character in a plowed cornfield menaced by the murderous pilot of a crop dusting biplane. Thoughts on Re-viewing These Two Films in the Twenty-first Century 1. I've never paid attention to costumes, but the outfit worn by Grace Kelly for a beach date is striking. Turns out it was designed by Edith Head, winner of eight academy awards for costume design.

She was nominated, but didn't win, the award for To Catch a Thief. There's an interesting video about Edith Head here and her design of the clothing in the movie. 2. North by Northwest was much, much funnier than I remembered. 3. Leonard, the nasty henchman of the foreign spy Vandamm in North by Northwest, is played by Martin Landau, a relatively obscure actor in 1959. Landau achieved real fame in the 1970's for his role in the TV series "Mission: Impossible." 4. Towards the end of both films the Cary Grant character rescues a woman about to fall to her death. In To Catch a Thief. The Cary Grant character has chased the cat burglar, who turns out to be a girl, to the edge of a roof, where she's just lost her grip on the gutter and dropped her bag of stolen jewels. Guests at an elegant costume party (including the female lead of the film, Grace Kelly) watch from below. A few frames ahead we see, from pavement level, the bag hit the ground and jewels bounce into the air. An iconic scene.

In the final minutes of North by Northwest Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) grabs the wrist of Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) as she nearly falls from the top of Mount Rushmore. 5. A year after North by Northwest hit the theaters, Alfred Hitchcock came out with the most famous film of his lifetime: Psycho. To Catch a Thief (1955) - IMDb IMDb 17 January 2017 4:34 PM, UTC NEWS There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error To Catch a Thief ( 1955 ) PG | When a reformed jewel thief is suspected of returning to his former occupation, he must ferret out the real thief in order to prove his innocence.

Director: John Michael Hayes (screenplay), David Dodge (based on the novel by) Stars: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 46 titles created 13 Mar 2011 a list of 24 titles created 28 Apr 2012 a list of 24 titles created 22 Sep 2014 a list of 45 titles created 9 months ago a list of 25 titles created 2 weeks ago Title: To Catch a Thief (1955) 7.5/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 nominations. See more awards » Videos A family vacationing in Morocco accidentally stumble on to an assassination plot and the conspirators are determined to prevent them from interfering. Director: Alfred Hitchcock An ex-tennis pro carries out a plot to murder his wife. When things go wrong, he improvises a brilliant plan B.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock The trouble with Harry is that he's dead, and everyone seems to have a different idea of what needs to be done with his body... Director: Alfred Hitchcock A woman is asked to spy on a group of Nazi friends in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them? Director: Alfred Hitchcock True story of an innocent man mistaken for a criminal. Director: Alfred Hitchcock A psychiatrist protects the identity of an amnesia patient accused of murder while attempting to recover his memory. Director: Alfred Hitchcock Mark marries Marnie although she is a habitual thief and has serious psychological problems, and tries to help her confront and resolve them. Director: Alfred Hitchcock A shy young heiress marries a charming gentleman, and soon begins to suspect he is planning to murder her. Director: Alfred Hitchcock Two young men strangle their "inferior" classmate, hide his body in their apartment, and invite his friends and family to a dinner party as a means to challenge the "perfection" of their crime. Director: Alfred Hitchcock A serial murderer is strangling women with a necktie. The London police have a suspect, but he is the wrong man.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock A psychotic socialite confronts a pro tennis star with a theory on how two complete strangers can get away with murder - a theory that he plans to implement. Director: Alfred Hitchcock A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people. Director: Alfred Hitchcock Edit Storyline American expatriate John Robie living in high style on the Riviera is a retired cat burglar. He must find out who a copy cat is to keep a new wave of jewel thefts from being pinned on him. High on the list of prime victims is Jessie Stevens, in Europe to help daughter Frances find a suitable husband. The Lloyds of London insurance agent is using a thief to catch a thief. Take an especially close look at scene where Robie gets Jessie's attention, dropping an expensive casino chip down the décolletage of a French roulette player. Written by Dale O'Connor <daleoc@interaccess.com> For a moment he forgets he's a thief--and she forgets she's a lady!

See more » Genres: Rated PG for some action violence, mild suggestive material and smoking | See all certifications » Parents Guide: 22 August 1955 (Brazil) See more » Also Known As: Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia Before the film was released there was some concern that the age difference between Cary Grant and Grace Kelly was too great. He was 50 and she was 24. See more » Goofs When Robie and Hughson are walking at the flower market, they look back at a few men following them. As they do, a woman in a bright pink dress is walking towards the two men behind them, but as they turn back, the same woman (who should have been behind them) is walking towards Robie and Hughson. See more » Quotes can be seen again and again 15 March 2005 | by Tashtago (Vancouver,Canada) – See all my reviews Like most of Hitchcock this is a film that withstands repeated viewings.

A light crime farce it is nevertheless full of great Hitchcock touches- a particular favorite of mine is the chase through the flower market with Cary Grant's comic encounter with the old flower seller. Grace Kelly was perhaps the sexiest of all movie stars in that she could combine the glamor of a Katherine Hepburn or Elizabeth Taylor with the earthy sexiness of Marilyn Monroe. Witness her first surprise kiss with Cary Grant and his reaction. This is priceless acting and one of the reasons Grant is considered one of the greatest actors in movie history. John Williams is also excellent as the very British insurance agent and Jesse Royce Landis (who played Grant's mother in North by Northwest ) is also on hand for a number of fine moments. Although slim in terms of drama this has to rank among the top ten of Hitch's films. 30 of 41 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes To Catch a Thief review, To Catch a Thief DVD review To Catch a Thief review, To Catch a Thief DVD review Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis, John Williams, Charles Vanel, Brigitte Auber, Jean Martinelli Alfred Hitchcock ) H e was “the master of suspense,” but not all of Alfred Hitchcock ’s films even tried to be particularly suspenseful. After the success of “ Rear Window ” in 1954, a tightly plotted, darkly comic suspenser shot entirely on a single extraordinary soundstage, Hitch seems to have wanted to take a break and make more relaxed and expansive films. And so it was that his next picture was a tale of light intrigue set against the majesty of the French Riviera, where the suspense/mystery element presented the thinnest veneer of camouflage against both commercial considerations and Hollywood censorship. The director often referred to his films as “slices of cake” and, with this film, three ingredients were on the baker’s mind – sex, romance and more sex. That may be why “To Catch a Thief” fails as a suspense film – but many viewers don’t care.

Indeed, this enjoyable mixture of wit, low voltage intrigue and highly charged attraction is really about the appeal of its two great stars and the beauty of its seaside setting, captured in stunning Technicolor and large-frame VistaVision. This is not a film to watch on the edge of your seat, but one to enjoy while (if possible) sipping your favorite cocktail in the close company of your favorite person. What it lacks in storytelling velocity, it largely makes up for in wit and beauty. Based on a novel by David Dodge and one of several mid-‘50s Hitchcock films highlighted by the writing of dialogue genius Jon Michael Hayes (“Rear Window”), “To Catch a Thief” brings us what amounts to a summit meeting of the male and female ideals of 1955 in Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Grant is John Robie, a.k.a. “the Cat,” a wealthy retired gentleman thief and former fighter with the anti-Nazi French Resistance. When a copycat burglar starts breaking into mansions and making off with hugely valuable jewelry along the French Riviera, the police prove entirely unsympathetic to his claims of innocence.

(This is a Hitchcock film.) However, a friendly English insurance investigator (John Williams, “ Sabrina ”) believes Robie’s story and helps him in his attempts to unmask the real thief while evading capture. Meanwhile, the ridiculously tan Robie/Grant catches the eye of a charmingly blunt millionaire widow (Jesse Royce Landis) and Grace Kelly as her stunning daughter, Francie. From there on, Robie’s attempts to clear his name put him at loggerheads with his old thieving/resistance cohorts, as well as another much-younger female offspring (sexy Brigitte Auber), who, naturally, also has her eye on Robie’s charms. Robie thinks he has little time for romance in the midst of all this, but Francie, a “cool blonde” with a warm heart, will ensure that he makes the time. Famously, the title of “To Catch a Thief” has a double meaning – there’s the cliché about using a thief to apprehend another one, but it also applies to the behavior of the Grace Kelly and Brigette Auber characters.

Considering he’s the lead in what amounts to a romantic comedy, it’s somewhat intriguing that Cary Grant’s Robie may have slightly more in common with his mean-spirited, bone-deep cynical FBI agent in Hitchcock’s mid-‘40s masterpiece, “Notorious,” than he does with Grant’s comically suave but initially hapless advertising man, Roger Thornhill, in his 1959 action-suspense romp, “North by Northwest.” After all, it is hinted, Robie’s work with the resistance amounted to being an assassin. His problem is that, even if Grace Kelly doesn’t even appear until 22 minutes into the film, the movie around him is all about love, sex and beauty, and not terribly concerned with his efforts to clear his name. It’s a bit of dramatic tension that probably saves the film from edging into boredom or complete triviality. The usual Hitchcockian high-caliber acting helps a great deal. By this point, the future Princess Grace of Monaco had really come into her own, and the depth of her performance here makes it clear just why she remained Hitchcock’s favorite actress, and an object of his personal obsessions.

In supporting roles, Brigitte Auber makes her grasping, sexually avaricious youngster all too believable. Better yet, John Williams (“ Sabrina ”) – a specialist at slightly befuddled Englishmen – and Jesse Royce Landis, herself a specialist at wealthy matrons, beautifully hold up the comic end of things. Indeed, Hitchcock later cast her as Cary Grant’s even more tart-tongued mother in “North by Northwest,” despite the fact that the she claimed to be only a year or two older than Grant (it was more like seven). On the semi-downside, Hitchcock, a control freak’s control freak, famously disliked shooting on location. But he was also an avid traveler, and this rapturously gorgeous film is, for better or worse, largely a travelogue. This was the mid-‘50s, and studios were desperate to lure audiences into theaters with hi-fi sound and visual marvels that 13-inch black and white TVs could never deliver – and “To Catch a Thief” certainly delivered those marvels.

Hitch wisely accompanied the new technology of VistaVision -- and some of the first-ever helicopter shots -- with the richness of three-strip Technicolor, a process that by 1955 was slowly on its way out. Those views of the French Riviera provided by cinematographer Robert Burks, who took home an Oscar for his labors, remain a magnificent sight. Indeed, I’m sure part of the reason I find myself liking “To Catch a Thief” substantially more on this viewing than in the past is that this Paramount DVD is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to view the film in a form that even approaches how it might have looked in its original format (basically the same as 70mm, itself a rarity these days). One aspect that still bothers me about the film is its treacly score by Lyn Murray, which further drains the tension from the proceedings – and gets downright bothersome during some of the love scenes. Still, I’m sure it added to the film’s profit for theater owners, as it must have sent countless preteen boys scurrying for the popcorn stand back in the day, even as their female counterparts decided they wanted to marry Cary Grant and be Grace Kelly.

And while the film’s romantic denouement is just about perfect, the attempt at a memorable suspense set-piece in the rooftop chase that precedes it feels like little more than a bland dress rehearsal for the dynamic opening of “ Vertigo .” It fulfils the film’s obligation to provide a bit of action and suspense, but nothing more. But, as I’ve made clear, suspense wasn’t the point; amour was. Of course, Alfred Hitchcock was no one’s idea of a great lover – indeed, he all but bragged that he and his much-beloved, respected and feared wife, Alma, had been celibate since some time after the birth of his daughter, Pat Hitchcock. In any case, that left plenty of libido for his films, and Hitch outdid other such censorship-busting contemporaries/competitors as the carnally voracious Billy Wilder in the onscreen sex department, and made some of the greatest date movies of all time. If you don’t get what those fireworks mean after Cary and Grace kiss, you’re really not getting the point.

Centennial Collection DVD Review: As I alluded to above, without a doubt the best thing about this two-set edition is how fantastic “To Catch a Thief” looks in this superb transfer, which I gather is a major improvement over the reputedly visually flawed 2002 DVD, if not the more recent 2007 edition. (I haven’t personally seen either.) As for the extras, for a movie with sex so clearly on its mind, it might seem appropriate that the commentary is from a Dr. Drew. Fortunately, we’re spared any lectures from Doc Pinsky about why 25-year-olds should not be dating 50-year-old ex-jewel thieves. In this case, our informative but breathless commentator is Hitchcock historian Dr. Drew Casper of the film school at the University of Southern California.

The second disk includes a Q&A session held at Casper’s Hitchcock class with Hitchcock’s granddaughter, Mary Stone, and his daughter, Pat Hitchcock, best known for her strong supporting roles in “Shadow of a Doubt” and “Strangers on a Train.” While the Hitchcock women are personable and funny, there really isn’t anything at all here that will be new to Hitchcock aficionados, and the memories they present paint a picture that is understandably rosy and not terribly revealing. Similarly, several other features, mostly left over from previous discs -- on Hitchcock’s dealings with film censorship, the making of the film, and costume designer Edith Head -- have their moments, but say very little that hasn’t been said a great deal elsewhere. Overall, the extras in this package fall very far short of the often outstanding features covering the same period recently featured on Universal’s Legacy series reissues of “Rear Window,” “Vertigo” and especially “ Psycho .” You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook for content updates. Also, sign up for our email list for weekly updates and check us out on Google+ as well. Around the Web

Question: Which actress played the female lead in Alfred Hitchcock's film "To Catch a Thief"?
Answer: Grace Kelly